Various scenarios exist where it is desirable to delay the initiation of an event until some time after an initial shock or acceleration. By way of example, in order to prevent premature detonation, many munition rounds, such as artillery shells, go through a multi-stage arming sequence after being fired. It is required that the sequence commence only after the shell has been fired, and for this purpose a delay after firing is imposed in the procedure.
The same delay procedure also applies to submunition arrangements where an artillery shell contains a plurality of smaller rounds, or a bomb contains a plurality of bomblets, by way of example. That is, after separation from the carrier shell or bomb, a time delay is imposed on these submunitions to prevent premature detonation.
This delay may be accomplished by an electronic sensor connected to the munition fuze. This sensor would sense the acceleration upon separation of the submunition from the carrier and convert this to an electronic signal which could be used to activate an actuator to remove a lock in the arming arrangement. Such sensor however, requires a power supply, signal processing circuitry and occupies an objectionably large space.
The present invention obviates these drawbacks. It is an object of the present invention to provide a multi-directional shock sensor having a mechanical design, which requires no power supply and can be fabricated by MEMS (micro electromechanical systems) techniques resulting in a relatively small shock, or acceleration sensor.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a multi-directional shock sensor that is responsive to a shock from any direction in a plane of the sensor.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a multi-directional shock sensor that is responsive and serves rough handling during shipping, for example, if a package is dropped.